DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Snow made NASCAR drivers Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr. no-shows at Daytona 500 media day. Newman and Truex missed the kickoff to Speedweeks on Thursday because a winter storm and icy conditions affected travel in the South and East. Newman posted a message on his Twitter page that included a photo of his snow-covered farm and several buffalo: "Stuck in NC. Headed out to check on Farm. Buffalo are happy this am." The weather caused several other NASCAR drivers to alter travel plans to Daytona International Speedway. David Gilliland and David Ragan were supposed to fly down Thursday morning, but instead of gambling on being able to get to the airport and take off without any delays, opted to drive Wednesday. They got on the road before the heavy stuff wreaked havoc on roadways. "If we left probably 30 minutes later, we would have been in trouble for sure," Gilliland said. "There was a lot of stuff happening. But luckily it was all a couple of exits behind us. We saw all the ice, snow, the trees breaking while we were driving down I-77 there." Parker Kligerman also ended up driving. But the Sprint Cup rookie made a rookie mistake by getting a late start and didnt get to Daytona until the wee hours Thursday. "We didnt get out til the midst of the storm," Kligerman said. "We literally hit gridlock. ... We had the car completely iced over at one point. We had to find a deicer. It was a disaster. We got stuck a couple of times. There were four or five overturned semis." Some drivers and teams arrived in Daytona a day or two early to avoid the chaos. Six-time and defending series champion Jimmie Johnson, though, decided to chance it and travel early Thursday. He said the key was moving his private jet to Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, which was better equipped to clear runways. "The trip from the hangar to the runway was pretty exciting," Johnson said. "They hadnt plowed any of that. I thought I was in an off-road truck for a while there, trying to get out to the runway." Aside from travel troubles, here are five things to know about media day: DEFENDING DANICA: Several drivers, maybe even most, defended Danica Patrick. Seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty said the only way Patrick could win a Sprint Cup race is if "everybody else stayed home." Patrick refused to fire back, politely saying everyone is entitled to an opinion. Her peers were more outspoken. Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. said "it was a little rough on Danica" and added that "she goes by a different set of rules because of her gender, and thats unfortunate. It seems like shes always having to answer to something like that, and thats a pain in her butt. And frankly its just got to get old." RETURN OF THE 3: The return of the iconic No. 3, the famed number the late Dale Earnhardt drove with Richard Childress Racing, was a hot topic. Childress grandson, Austin Dillon, will drive the black No. 3 for RCR. Dillon handled the attention perfectly, saying "the legend of Dale has lived on for a long time and is going to continue to live on forever. Dale Earnhardt is not just famous because of the number." Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose father died after crashing on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, said hes "quite comfortable with how its going down and Im glad its back." STEWARTS REHAB: Tony Stewarts return to racing is down to hours. The three-time NASCAR champion has been out of a race car since crashing at a sprint-car event in Iowa last August and breaking his right leg. Stewart missed the final 15 races of 2013. He has been cleared to race and will be back in the car for practice Friday. "Its been the slowest off-season Ive ever had," he said. "Im ready to get doing something again." CHASE CHANGES: NASCAR drastically overhauled its Chase for the Sprint Cup championship by expanding the field, switching to a knockout-style format and placing more emphasis on winning. Johnson welcomed the tweaks. "I still think the way you win a championship is the same: youve got to win races," he said. "When we look around at sports, everythings changing. The Olympics look far different than they used to. The NFL is considering change. The world is changing. Our viewership is changing, so the sport has to change." GORDONS FUTURE: Four-time champion Jeff Gordon is talking retirement. Gordon said he is prepared to call it quits if he wins a fifth championship. "Go out on a high note," said the 42-year-old Gordon, who won titles in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001. Custom Los Angeles Lakers Jerseys . -- The NFL cancelled its Hall of Fame game between St. Wilt Chamberlain Jersey . - Olympic champion Marielle Thompson accomplished her mission of defending her skicross World Cup title at Nakiska Ski Area on Saturday. http://www.lakersteamofficial.com/Elgin-...-Jersey/.Martin Caceres marked his return from injury by scoring in the 3-1 win at Napoli and he believes Juventus sent out a warning to the rest of the league with that result.We go out on the pitch every game looking to give our all, Caceres said. Magic Johnson Lakers Jersey . -- Alex Anthopoulos spoke volumes with what he didnt say on right-hander Ervin Santana. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Lakers Jersey . Coetzees finish, with six birdies and no bogeys, took him to 19-under 268 overall and past South African compatriots Thomas Aiken and Justin Walters, the overnight co-leaders. Coetzee was flawless on the East Course at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club to clinch his maiden title after 24 top 10 finishes.(SportsNetwork.com) - The New York Islanders will try to strengthen their lead atop the Metropolitan Division on Monday afternoon in their final game before the All-Star break as they host the rival Philadelphia Flyers. The Islanders hold a three-point lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the division after seeing a four-game win streak come to an end with Saturdays 6-4 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. The Pens are idle before visiting the Flyers on Tuesday, while the Isles arent back in action following today until after this weekends All-Star game. All-Star Jaroslav Halak had a rare poor performance on Saturday, tagged for six goals on 33 shots faced before getting lifted late in the game. Halak had made 21 saves in a win over the Penguins the previous night. John Tavares and Kyle Okposo each notched a goal and an assist for the Islanders. Okposo scored four goals in the 6-3 win over the Pens. We mismanaged the puck in two periods, had 17 giveaways, said Islanders coach Jack Capuano. We didnt have our transition game tonight, but I give them credit, they moved the puck well tonight and their power play executed as it should. The Flyers hope to secure a big win today and keep their offense on track following a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. Philadelphia was shut out in consecutive ggames going in and snapped a scoreless streak of 168 minutes and 50 seconds with R.ddddddddddddJ. Umbergers second-period tally 3:51 into the frame. It was Philadelphias first goal since the second period of last Mondays 7-3 win over Tampa Bay. Mark Streit also scored and Chris VandeVelde and Michael Raffl scored third- period tallies. We have a group of guys here that love scoring goals and some of the guys do it often. To go a couple of games without scoring, it definitely feels long, Umberger said. Rob Zepp came up with 24 saves, as he made his third start and fourth appearance in four games since No. 1 Steve Mason went down with a sprained right knee. Zepp, a 33-year-old rookie, is 3-1-0 with a 2.38 goals against average and .904 save percentage in five games (4 starts) on the season for the Flyers, who are 11 points out of a wild card spot. Halak is 5-2-0 in his career against Philadelphia with a 1.91 GAA, .936 save percentage and two shutouts in seven meetings. He made 21 saves in a 1-0 shootout victory at home over the Flyers on Nov. 24, which was the first of four meetings between the clubs this season. Mason made 46 saves, but yielded shootout goals to Frans Nielsen and Tavares as the Isles beat the Flyers for the third time in the past four encounters on Long Island. Youth NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Throwback Jerseys Disocunt Football Jerseys China Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale NFL Gear Cheap Jerseys ' ' '